- Email: [email protected]
inge offers Multibore upgrade for horizontal and vertical systems
NEWS The funding round was led by Kairos Ventures, with follow-on capital provided by Bluestem Capital and the Wolfen Group – two of PolyCera’s existing investors through Water Planet. Commenting on the financing round, Simon Marshall, CEO, PolyCera Membranes, said: ‘Completion of the Series A funding round is an important step forward for PolyCera – creating a solid foundation on which to continue its dynamic growth.’ ‘In addition to making important strategic investments in top-tier industry talent, aimed at accelerating sales, we will use the funds to invest in manufacturing capabilities near our headquarters in Southern California and fast-track development and commercialisation of our nanofiltration and reverse osmosis products.’ Engineered with Nobel Prize winning chemistry and made from what is described as a revolutionary organic metal material, PolyCera membranes gained immediate market traction upon their launch in November 2016. The company says that it now has more than 80 installations on three continents up and running as well as 27 live trials on six continents in various stages of completion. Kairos Ventures invests in, supports and nourishes the world’s leading scientific discoveries and commercialises them into successful businesses as quickly as possible. Institutional investor Bluestem Capital brings extensive success and experience working with all stages of companies in energy, water, healthcare and other tech industries. Based in Los Angeles, The Wolfen Group is a private equity investor with over 20 years of experience investing in early stage technology businesses, including being founding investor in Broadcom. ‘I am pleased and grateful to have Kairos Ventures as a major investor in PolyCera Membranes along with Bluestem, the Wolfens and our historical investors through Water Planet,’ said Eric Hoek, Founder and Chairman of PolyCera Membranes. For further information, visit: http://polyceramembranes.com & www.waterplanet.com
Fluence system will produce biogas from steel mill byproducts
W
ater and wastewater treatment systems company Fluence Corp Ltd has received a €3.9 million contract for a wastewater treatment and wasteto-energy system for its customer, steel and mining company ArcelorMittal. 4
Membrane Technology
Fluence is designing and building the system for the company’s steel mill in Ghent, Belgium. Based on anaerobic digestion technology, it will produce biogas from off-gas fermentation byproducts. The system is expected to be delivered, installed and operational on-site within 18 months. Fluence says that this is its first wastewater and waste-to-energy system designed specifically for use in the steel industry. Steel mill byproducts are notoriously difficult to treat to a grade that meets government effluent requirements. Its team was able to achieve the client’s desired effluent using anaerobic digestion technology. By adding waste-to-energy treatment to the system, the biogas produced will be used to power the steel mill’s operations, which will, in turn, lower the overall operating costs. Henry Charrabé, Managing Director and CEO, Fluence, said: ‘Our highly experienced team has adapted our advanced anaerobic digestion technology for this new application, bringing even more value to our customers. We hope this milestone project will be the beginning of introducing Fluence’s capabilities for similar steel mill applications around the world.’ ‘As part of our global product strategy, we have already sold a number of anaerobic systems developed by Fluence Italy in Europe and South America, including applications in the poultry and fish processing industries.’ Carl De Maré, Vice President of Technology Strategy, ArcelorMittal, added: ‘We are excited that after several years of research and engineering we are now progressing with the largest project of its kind within the ArcelorMittal group. This is the first application of a viable new business case where reuse of carbon is possible at large scale. We will achieve significant carbon reduction and we hope that this will lead us to a lower carbon economy.’ ‘This new carbon smart technology illustrates ArcelorMittal’s commitment to transforming steel production and it will also further strengthen steel’s standing in the circular economy – particularly compared with other higher carbon metals like aluminium.’ For further information, visit: www.fluencecorp.com & http://corporate.arcelormittal.com
inge offers Multibore upgrade for horizontal and vertical systems
I
n response to positive feedback from customers, inge GmbH, the German ultrafiltration (UF) technology company that is part of BASF SE, recently
extended its range of Multibore® membranes to include, what it terms, an additional performance category. It is introducing the dizzer® L 0.9 MB 55 P – a UF unit with a 55 m² active filtration area that is designed to seamlessly replace existing units in horizontal UF systems on a one-to-one basis, providing an easy means of upgrading to Multibore membranes. It is also offering the dizzer L 0.9 MB 55, which is designed to replace existing UF units in vertical systems in the same category. In other news, it says that it is launching plastic couplings for its tried-and-tested T-Rack® 3.0 series, for protecting UF racks against corrosion, for example, in sea-water applications. The new material is available for both the 6-inch and 2-inch couplings. This upgrade also includes stainless steel screws with an additional anti-seize coating, providing maximum protection against corrosion even under challenging weather conditions and tough working environments. For further information, visit: www.inge.basf.com
Saltworks demonstrates its ZLD technology to USBR
T
he United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) has engaged Canada’s Saltworks Technologies to demonstrate the company’s zero liquid discharge (ZLD) SaltMaker evaporator crystalliser at a location in the USA. The USBR, which is dedicated to protecting the environment, has been intercepting saline water from entering an important American watershed. To demonstrate a full-scale system for desalinating the saline water (brine), it selected the SaltMaker after a comprehensive competitive review of brine management and ZLD technologies. ZLD involves treating 100% of the water flow to only produce two outputs: clean water and all contaminants reduced to a solid – which, in this case, is salt. The demonstration plant was delivered in the winter and operated 24/7 to produce solid salts and fresh water. Saltworks’ project leader Malcolm Man said: ‘We sent one of our SaltMaker pilots from our test fleet in a pre-packaged shipping container along with a team of operators. We are incredibly proud of the hard work demonstrated by our team that resulted in rapid ZLD solid salt
August 2018
Fluence system will produce biogas from steel mill byproducts
W
ater and wastewater treatment systems company Fluence Corp Ltd has received a €3.9 million contract for a wastewater treatment and wasteto-energy system for its customer, steel and mining company ArcelorMittal. 4
Membrane Technology
Fluence is designing and building the system for the company’s steel mill in Ghent, Belgium. Based on anaerobic digestion technology, it will produce biogas from off-gas fermentation byproducts. The system is expected to be delivered, installed and operational on-site within 18 months. Fluence says that this is its first wastewater and waste-to-energy system designed specifically for use in the steel industry. Steel mill byproducts are notoriously difficult to treat to a grade that meets government effluent requirements. Its team was able to achieve the client’s desired effluent using anaerobic digestion technology. By adding waste-to-energy treatment to the system, the biogas produced will be used to power the steel mill’s operations, which will, in turn, lower the overall operating costs. Henry Charrabé, Managing Director and CEO, Fluence, said: ‘Our highly experienced team has adapted our advanced anaerobic digestion technology for this new application, bringing even more value to our customers. We hope this milestone project will be the beginning of introducing Fluence’s capabilities for similar steel mill applications around the world.’ ‘As part of our global product strategy, we have already sold a number of anaerobic systems developed by Fluence Italy in Europe and South America, including applications in the poultry and fish processing industries.’ Carl De Maré, Vice President of Technology Strategy, ArcelorMittal, added: ‘We are excited that after several years of research and engineering we are now progressing with the largest project of its kind within the ArcelorMittal group. This is the first application of a viable new business case where reuse of carbon is possible at large scale. We will achieve significant carbon reduction and we hope that this will lead us to a lower carbon economy.’ ‘This new carbon smart technology illustrates ArcelorMittal’s commitment to transforming steel production and it will also further strengthen steel’s standing in the circular economy – particularly compared with other higher carbon metals like aluminium.’ For further information, visit: www.fluencecorp.com & http://corporate.arcelormittal.com
inge offers Multibore upgrade for horizontal and vertical systems
I
n response to positive feedback from customers, inge GmbH, the German ultrafiltration (UF) technology company that is part of BASF SE, recently
extended its range of Multibore® membranes to include, what it terms, an additional performance category. It is introducing the dizzer® L 0.9 MB 55 P – a UF unit with a 55 m² active filtration area that is designed to seamlessly replace existing units in horizontal UF systems on a one-to-one basis, providing an easy means of upgrading to Multibore membranes. It is also offering the dizzer L 0.9 MB 55, which is designed to replace existing UF units in vertical systems in the same category. In other news, it says that it is launching plastic couplings for its tried-and-tested T-Rack® 3.0 series, for protecting UF racks against corrosion, for example, in sea-water applications. The new material is available for both the 6-inch and 2-inch couplings. This upgrade also includes stainless steel screws with an additional anti-seize coating, providing maximum protection against corrosion even under challenging weather conditions and tough working environments. For further information, visit: www.inge.basf.com
Saltworks demonstrates its ZLD technology to USBR
T
he United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) has engaged Canada’s Saltworks Technologies to demonstrate the company’s zero liquid discharge (ZLD) SaltMaker evaporator crystalliser at a location in the USA. The USBR, which is dedicated to protecting the environment, has been intercepting saline water from entering an important American watershed. To demonstrate a full-scale system for desalinating the saline water (brine), it selected the SaltMaker after a comprehensive competitive review of brine management and ZLD technologies. ZLD involves treating 100% of the water flow to only produce two outputs: clean water and all contaminants reduced to a solid – which, in this case, is salt. The demonstration plant was delivered in the winter and operated 24/7 to produce solid salts and fresh water. Saltworks’ project leader Malcolm Man said: ‘We sent one of our SaltMaker pilots from our test fleet in a pre-packaged shipping container along with a team of operators. We are incredibly proud of the hard work demonstrated by our team that resulted in rapid ZLD solid salt
August 2018